General descriptions of known configurations of bulk material containers are detailed in the above-referenced U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,932,266; 9,296,511 and 10,071,842.
Several of such bulk material containers are illustrated herein in FIGS. 1-11, and are generally described below. Referring to FIGS. 1-10, a first configuration of a bulk material container 10 generally includes a forming member 12, a locking mechanism 12a, an outer sleeve 14 and optionally an inner liner 16. The forming member 12 is typically constructed of relatively inexpensive lightweight corrugated material that can be operatively configured to define an internal geometric volumetric shape that defines the bulk material storage portion of the container 10. The forming member and locking assembly are collapsible for storage and transport before use and are easily unfolded and shaped to form an operable box-like container configuration as shown in FIGS. 1-7, and also provides structural support for enabling stacking of loaded/filled containers.
The forming member 12 has a plurality of interconnected sidewalls 12b that are configurable to form a closed perimeter of the internal geometric volume. The bottom edges 17 of the sidewalls 12b are designed to be supported on and carried by a pallet. A locking assembly maintains the forming member sidewalls in predetermined fixed position relative to one another when the container is empty. While the locking mechanism can be physically separable from the sidewalls, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-7, the locking assembly comprises lower extension portions 12a of the sidewalls 12b that fold inwardly along the bottom edges 17 of the sidewalls and overlap with one another to form a bottom surface of the container and of the internal geometric volume. At least some of the inwardly folded sidewall extensions 12a have slots generally shown at 18 for cooperatively receiving and interconnecting with edges or other portions of the folded sidewall extensions, forming a locking assembly of the sidewall extensions. The locking assembly initially maintains the sidewalls in predetermined fixed relationship to one another around the defined internal volume when operatively assembled, and prevents the sidewalls 12b from riding or sliding upward in a direction away from the bottom of the forming member during filling of the container.
As described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,266, an optional bag/liner illustrated at 16 in FIG. 1 may be inserted within the internal geometric volumetric shape of the forming member to accommodate the particular bulk material with which the container will be used. The bag/liner 16 may, for example, protect the contents of the container system and/or prevent leakage or sifting of powders out of the forming member. Such bags/liners are well-known in the art.
A sleeve member 14 is sized to cooperatively and snugly engage and circumferentially surround all or substantially all of the entire outer peripheral sidewall portions 12b of the forming member 12. The sleeve 14 is preferably configured in a continuous manner from a flexible, woven fiber material known for its strength and light weight. The sleeve is sized to extend down to and beyond the lower edges 17 of the sidewalls 12b. In the container embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the lower portion of the sleeve 14 that extends beyond the lower edges 17 of the sidewalls 12b is folded back up along the sidewalls, as shown at 15, to provide additional strength along the lower portions of the sidewalls.
In the container embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 4-7, those portions 19 of the sleeve 14 that extend beyond the lower edges 17 of the sidewalls 12b are folded inwardly under the lower edges 17 of the sidewalls 12b and engage the lower surfaces of the sidewall extension portions 12a forming the locking assembly and the bottom of the container. The sidewall extension members interlock with one another by means of angled slot configurations generally shown at 18. Referring to the container embodiments shown in FIGS. 4-7, it can be observed that when the lower extension members 12a are operatively folded to form the container bottom and locking assembly, portions of the extension members 12a horizontally overlap one another forming several vertical gaps or void areas G between overlapping surfaces of the extensions 12a. As the sleeve 14 is folded under the lower edges 17 of the sidewalls 12b, excess sleeve material gathers under the bottom of the container adjacent the corners of the forming member. The excess sleeve material is typically tucked into the gaps or void areas G as illustrated at 19a. As described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,266, tucking the excess sleeve material under the forming member and into the gaps G helps to counteract undesired upward sliding movement of the sleeve 14 along the sidewalls 12b as upward pressure is exerted on the forming member and sleeve as bulk material is loaded into the container. As the weight of the bulk material loaded into the container increases, downward pressure exerted by the material on the lower extension members 12a of the forming member vertically compresses the sleeve material in the gaps G between the overlapping extension members 12a, tightly sandwiching and holding the sleeve member there between as the pressure from the bulk material increases.
The bulk container embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrates the lower portion 19 of the sleeve 14 being directly folded under the locking assembly sidewall extension 12a and into the gap G as shown at 19a. In the cross-sectional view of the bulk material container embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the length of the sleeve portion 19′ that extends beyond the lower edge 17 of the forming member sidewalls 12b is significantly longer than that of the previously described embodiment such that the lower folded part of the extended sleeve 19′ can be folded back upon itself before being tucked into the gap G as shown at 19a′ before the free end of the sleeve is returned along the bottom of the container and back up the outer sidewall as shown at 15′. The double sleeve layer 15′ along the container sidewall provides added sleeve strength adjacent the bottom portion of the container, where the bulk material applied forces are the greatest. The folded up sleeve portion 15′ preferably extends from about 20% to 50% of the height of the sidewalls 12b, and more preferably from about 20% to 30% of the height of the sidewalls.
Yet another bulk container configuration wherein the sleeve 14″ is tucked into the gap G is illustrated in FIG. 7. Referring to FIG. 7, the lower sleeve portion 19″ is first folded back upon itself and back up along the outer sidewall 14″ as illustrated at 15″ and then returned back along the bottom surface of the container as a solo layer of sleeve material that is tucked into the gap G as illustrated at 19a. This configuration provides a triple layer of sleeve material that extends upward along the lower portions of the sidewalls to provide additional strength along the lower surface area portions of the sidewalls. Understandably, the sleeve configurations illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 require considerably more sleeve 14 material than the sleeve configuration illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.
The above described containers 10 of FIGS. 1-7 all have the same general configurations of forming members 12, locking assemblies 12a, and sleeves 14. They only differ in how the lower excess sleeve material (15, 19) that extends beyond the bottom edge 17 of the forming member sidewalls 12b, is folded, either under the container bottom (19, 19′, 19″) and/or back up along the lower portion of the sidewalls (15, 15′, 15″). The general construction of the woven fabric sleeve, however, remains the same. The U.S. Pat. No. 10,071,842 describes an improved variation of the container configuration of FIGS. 4 and 5 which provides a securement feature for insuring that the folded-over sleeve portion 19 remains secured to the bottom locking assembly 12a surface during moving and handling of the assembled container prior to its loading with bulk material. In the embodiment described in the U.S. Pat. No. 10,071,842, that sleeve securement feature is provided by pairs of cooperatively engageable fasteners on the sleeve and locking assembly portions of the container. That structure is shown in the container configuration 10A of FIGS. 8-10. For ease of comparison the same number designations for similar portions of the containers 10 of FIGS. 4, 5 and the container 10A of FIGS. 8-10 have been used, with added numerical designations being provided for the sleeve securement coupling portions of the container 10A.
Referring to FIGS. 8-10, the cooperatively coupled connectors are located on the inwardly folded locking assembly extension members 12a and on the lower portion 19 of the sleeve 14. The sleeve 14 illustrated in FIG. 8 extends between upper 14a and lower 14b edges and has a plurality of slots 6 peripherally strategically spaced adjacent the lower portion 19 of the sleeve 14, which extends below the lower edges 17 of the forming member sidewalls 12b. The lower extension portions 12a of the forming member sidewalls 12b, which are folded inwardly in interlocking manner to form the locking assembly of the container 10A have a plurality of outwardly projecting tab members 7 that are arranged, sized and configured to cooperatively slide within the sleeve slots 6 so as to retainably engage and hold the lower portion 19 of the sleeve 14 when it is inwardly folded under the locking member segments 12a, as described more fully in the U.S. Pat. No. 10,071,842. FIG. 9 illustrates the container 10A in inverted position, portraying the bottom of the container with its interlocked locking assembly segments 12a and the sleeve 14 pulled downwardly and cooperatively engaging the forming member sidewalls 12b with the sleeve lower portion 19 containing the slots 6 extending beyond the bottom edges 17 of the sidewalls 12b prior to folding of the sleeve inwardly against the bottom surfaces of the locking assembly segments 12a, and prior to cooperative engagement of the locking assembly tab portions 7 with the sleeve slots 6. FIG. 10 illustrates the bottom of the container 10A with the tabs 7 of the locking assembly portions 12a cooperatively engaging the sleeve 14 through its slots 6 and tautly securing the lower portion 19 of the sleeve 14 to the bottom of the container. As explained in the U.S. Pat. No. 10,071,842, the excess sleeve material that gathers between adjacent facing tabs 7 along the bottom of the container after the sleeve is folded under and secured to the locking assembly segments, is tucked into the gaps formed by the overlapping locking assembly segments 12a, in the areas generally illustrated by the arrows G in FIG. 10. The tab 7 and slot 6 fasteners retain the sleeve in its operative position and prevent the sleeve from being dislodged and allowed to ride up along the container sidewalls prior to loading of bulk material into the container.
The examples of known bulk material containers described above, employ forming members, typically of corrugated material, surrounded and engaged by a woven fabric sleeve. The forming member defines the geometric volumetric shape and configuration of the container and prevents structural rigidity and stabilizing support for enabling stacking of loaded containers. The sleeve material that snugly engages the forming member sidewalls assumes the defined geometric shape of the engaged outer surface areas of the forming member and provides the necessary strength for containing the bulk material within the container, by counteracting the outward radial forces applied by the contained bulk material against the inner surfaces of the forming member.
In the above examples, the sleeve surrounds the forming member. However, the present invention is not limited to bulk material containers having such configurations. The forming member component can also be arranged and configured externally of the strength providing woven fabric, such as for example, shown and described in the inventor's prior U.S. Pat. No. 9,296,511. The U.S. Pat. No. 9,296,511 describes a collapsible reusable bulk material container having an outer open architecture forming member framework that defines the outer geometric shape and volumetric properties of the container, into which is inserted a continuously woven fabric sleeve or bag material that provides the primary bulk material containment strength of the container. Such external framework container can be used, for example, in place of conventionally used solid wall drum containers and as was the case of the previously described bulk containers with outer sleeve members, provides collapsibility for compact storage or space saving shipment to use sites.
FIG. 11 generally illustrates in exploded view, one example of a collapsible bulk material container 10B having an external forming member framework that surrounds an internal sleeve or bag of continuously woven material, described in more detail in the U.S. Pat. No. 9,296,511. Referring to FIG. 11, the container 10B generally includes an external framework forming member assembly 12′ and a woven fiber sleeve or bag 14′″ cooperatively insertable and contained within the forming member assembly 12′, to contain a volume of bulk material. As with the previously described prior art bulk material container configurations, the forming member assembly 12′ defines the geometric configuration and shape of the container, while the internal sleeve 14′″ provides the container's primary bulk material containment strength for counteracting the outward radial forces applied by the bulk material to the container. The forming member assembly 12′ includes a lower base member 50, an upper ring member 52, an intermediate band member 59, a plurality of lower post members 55 and a plurality of upper post members 57. The components forming the framework 12′ are cooperatively detachably connected together and interlocked to form a generally rigid framework structure. The bottom portions of the lower support post members 55 mount to the lower base member 50 and are guided by and pass through inside portions of the intermediate band member 59. The lower ends of the upper post members 57 have receptor portions that receive and connect to upper portions of the lower post members 55, and form rigid longitudinal extensions of the lower post members. The upper/distal ends of the upper post members 57 are peripherally secured to inner post receptor portions of the upper ring member 52 to complete formation of the generally rigid, open architecture forming member framework 12′. The woven fiber support sleeve or bag 14′″ is operatively positioned within the internal cavity defined by the forming member framework 12′ and is attached to and hung from fastener portions of the upper ring 52 by cooperatively aligned fastener loops 8 of the sleeve/bag 14′″. The sleeve 14′″ can be open bottomed and have a length sufficient for its bottom portion to be folded over in resting manner on the upper surface of the base member 50, to form a bottom of the sleeve's internal cavity. A bottom panel of woven material can alternatively be sewn to the lower portion of the tubular sleeve to form a bag-like bottom of the sleeve that would rest upon the upper surface of the base member 50. As with previously described bulk material containers, an optional poly bag (not shown) may be inserted within the woven fiber support sleeve/bag 14′″ to isolate contained bulk material from direct contact with the sleeve/bag material. A top cover 60 is detachably secured to the upper ring 52 by means of a tightening band 65 to close external access to the support sleeve/bag 14′″, providing sealing closure to the bulk material container.
Bulk container assemblies of the type generally described above with respect to prior art configurations have been well received in the marketplace and have been used by a wide variety of customers for containing a wide range of different bulk materials. Such diversified use has uncovered aspects of embodiments, configurations and features of the bulk material container assemblies that could be improved upon for improved operation and/or for meeting competitive marketplace demands.
As described above, a number of such bulk material container improvements have already been made. Proper positioning of the support sleeve relative to an underlying forming member has been addressed. Folding over portions of the sleeve below the container bottom and tucking portions of the sleeve between overlapping portions of the locking assembly helps to keep the sleeve from riding up the container sidewalls during and after filling of the container. Positively securing underlying portions of the sleeve to the container bottom using cooperatively engaging fasteners helps to prevent the sleeve from moving out of its preferred operative position due to handling and moving of an assembled container before it is filled with bulk material. Arranging portions of the sleeve to form multiple overlapping sleeve layers along lower portions of the container sidewalls have addressed the issue of strengthening sleeve support where the sleeve strength is most required, to prevent rupture of the container sidewalls or sleeves.
Even in view of such improvements, there is still room for improving bulk material container configurations. One such area relates to improvement of the support sleeve. The sleeve material has traditionally been woven from material of uniform strength. No known bulk material containers have employed continuously woven support sleeves having material of selectively varied strength, configured to provide increased strength in those sleeve regions where additional strength is most required. The present invention addresses this unmet need of bulk material containers.